Dear Omega, Bring Back The Dynamic

The Dynamic might not be the first watch that comes to mind when asking for a re-edition. As a matter of fact, it might not even be “a watch” to most, except for maybe the vintage guys. And even some of THEM raise an eyebrow when I sport my beloved Dynamic. Yet, this watch has so much character, it’s incredible. I’m fairly sure Omega will never bring back the Dynamic, but one can dream.

To be clear, when I say Dynamic, I do not mean the models from the ’90s. Rather, I’m talking about the oval, funky, two-tone models with the quirky strap system. They’re fun, cheap, and wear fantastically!

A page from a vintage Omega catalog — Photo credit: www.old-omegas.com

Design icon

While the Omega Dynamic came to the market in the late ’60s, most of us consider it a typical, funky ’70s watch. Granted, the model reached its peak during the 1970s and quickly became a successful model line for Omega. Its designer Raymond Thévenaz aimed to develop a timepiece that sat comfortably on the wrist. For this, Thévenaz studied human anatomy paying close attention to the wrist in particular. The name, Dynamic, came from the aerodynamic shape of the watch as it sits on the wrist. Although the Omega Dynamic had a great run, the model went out of production in 1977. Despite its relatively short life span, the vintage market is still flooded with both men’s and women’s Dynamic models. Thanks to its colorful straps and dials, the watch looks as contemporary today as it did five decades ago. And this, dear readers, is why it has to come back.

Color, colors, and more colors

One of the most prominent trends of this year is colorful watches. Although it has been a thing for quite a while now, it seems that in 2022, more and more brands from Sinn to Oris want to take a piece of this cake. Back in the ’70s, the Dynamic was one of the most fun and colorful watches in the already versatile Omega lineup. To begin with, the dials were mainly two-tone blue and white. But we can find examples with red, gray, green, or even white racing-type executions. In terms of materials, steel, gold-plated, and solid gold cases were all part of the lineup. Imagine having a new Dynamic with these bold and vivid colors on the dial, perhaps with even more contemporary tones like aquamarine or yellow. Let’s put them in titanium or steel cases and create a Sedna Gold version for the aficionados.

As far as the size goes, the Dynamic is already perfect. The oval case is wide at 41mm, but it’s not tall and sits perfectly on the wrist thanks to its ergonomic shape. Still, I feel that if Omega wanted, the brand could add a few millimeters to its size to make it more contemporary. A stainless steel case is a go for any watch, and titanium could help the weight issue if the case gets a size upgrade. Not that it needs one, but the Dynamic is as light as it gets, even with its automatic movement. While I’m not a gold-watch type of guy, I’m sure the Sedna Gold Dynamic would be a hit, particularly on the bracelet.

Strap options

Speaking of bracelets, the ingenious feature of the vintage Dynamic was its strap/bracelet swap system. You could change between a steel bracelet or a leather strap in a matter of seconds. Every Dynamic has a retainer ring on the case back. By unscrewing this ring with a tool provided by Omega (although it works with any standard case back tool, too), you could remove the bracelet and add a leather strap to your watch. Omega released numerous colorful strap options. Black, blue, green, red, and yellow were all part of the collection, both in perforated or suede leather. Some models even had a unique metal ring with four lugs so you could attach any regular 20mm strap to your beloved Dynamic. It was one watch with endless options for straps or bracelets. Isn’t this how some brands try to market their timepieces these days? Omega could definitely bring this back.

His and hers

The Omega Dynamic came to the market in two sizes back then. The gents’ version was about 41 × 37mm, while the ladies’ version was much smaller at 30 × 25mm. Aside from that, the latter looks and functions exactly like a men’s watch. It also had the same case shape, dial color, and retainer ring system. I know it’s not “woke” in 2022 to call them “men’s” and “women’s” models, so let’s say there is an option to recreate the Dynamic in a larger and smaller size. Whether you want one for your wife, your child, or even yourself (if you have a smaller wrist) is up to you. Omega would need to work on the sizes again, but that should not be an issue.

Things to correct

Many watchmakers complained that the way the Omega Dynamic opened was far from efficient. Due to the retainer ring on the back, we had a monocoque case, meaning that there was no case back to open. The watch was a front loader; you had to remove the crystal to access the movement from the dial side. Nowadays, NOS crystals are hard to come by. Often, when the watchmaker blew pressurized air in the case to pop the crystal off, the little flaps that held the glass in place would break off. Furthermore, to get access to the case, the technician would need to pull out the crown, which damaged the stem or even the movement itself from time to time. Yet, I believe that these are issues that shouldn’t be a problem for Omega to tackle today.

I love my vintage Dynamic. As quirky as it may look, it is a super comfortable watch. Thanks to the clever strap-changing options, styling the watch to different outfits or seasons is no issue. After many years, the watch still runs within eight seconds per day, and the date is often a helpful feature as well. So please, Omega, bring back the Dynamic — and send me one in Sedna Gold for a review. Thank you!